Snake's Apprentice
by Firedamaged
Summary: Anko Trains Naruto to be one of Konoha's leading assassins. Rating may go up. Pairings undecided. Had the idea a while ago and thought I'd post it. Review if you want me to continue it.


**Disclaimer for entire story: I don't own Naruto nor any affiliated anything. If I come up with an OC or anything of my own, I'll be sure to claim credit for it, if I don't then it isn't mine.**

The Sandaime Hokage looked up from the application form in front of him at the jounin kunoichi sitting nervously in his office and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Anko, the council has once again denied your request to train a genin team" he said, almost wincing at the look of hurt that passed across her face before she could school her features. _'Poor girl'_ he thought, _'It wasn't her fault her sensei crossed the line with his experiments and left the village. If anyone's to blame, it should be me, I taught him, I'm the one who missed the madness in him. Now she has to suffer the council's perpetual distrust and hatred for my mistakes.'_

Anko merely nodded, stood and bowed to him in silent thanks for trying. It nearly broke his heart to see the resignation in her stance as she turned to leave his office. An idea suddenly struck him, it was a long shot but…

"Anko, there is one possibility…"

She turned back to him, her expression stoic, but he could see hope glinting in her eyes, oh how he wished this would work.

"If you could get a genin to agree, you could take on an apprentice, it's not a full team but it is something. What's more is that the council have no say in the matter, it is purely under my authority to grant permission."

"I can have a genin? All to my own? Arigato! Thank you Hokage-sama!" As she yelled the last part of her thanks she took the ageing Hokage completely by surprise when she came leaping over the desk to envelop him in a high speed glomp.

"I promise, I'll treat it good, I won't let you down, I'll feed it and water it and teach it tricks and…"

"Oof… Anko, you're not getting a puppy you know," _'Well, unless she get's one of the Inuzuka kids'_ he thought, "and it's only if you can find one that will agree to it…"

Anko finally released her hold on the old man and back up to the other side of the desk, asking; "Which genin are available Hokage-sama?"

Leaning over to pick up his pipe he opened a cabinet drawer with the other and proceeded to pull out a set of files.

"These are the students about to take their final academy exams. If you can find one you want to train and they pass, you're more than welcome to take them on as an apprentice. Be sure to tell me before the teams are put together though, it is, after all, first come first served."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Anko answered back automatically as she began looking through the files, thinking _'I'm gonna call it "Puppy".'_ She didn't want someone from a clan, she wanted someone fresh, someone she could raise up from scratch, someone who would be hers and hers alone. Then, when they became a brilliant shinobi, she could prove to the council that she could be trusted and then she'd finally be allowed a team of her own! It had been her dream, since Orochimaru had left and abandoned her to the village to be branded an untrustworthy traitor, to raise a genin squad, to be a better sensei than he ever was.

'_Nara, clan… Akimichi, clan… Yamanaka, clan… Uchiha, clan plus complete douche… Ooh, hello, Haruno… civilian parents, excellent control, not much chakra capacity, but that's remedied with training, let's take a look at the psyche profile… huh, naive, hates perverts to an astounding degree, obsessive with borderline stalker tendencies towards… oh sweet kami no!' _ she practically threw the offending file back onto the table, the list of potential students growing smaller as she picked up the next random file. _'Hmm, Uzumaki, orphaned, no clan, poor control, dead last academically, practical skills good, evasion excellent despite… unfortunate clothing?… speed, stamina and chakra capacity through the roof, psyche evaluation good, determined, energetic and cheerful, odd… the entire report is in the same handwriting…'_

"Hokage-sama, why has this report all been done by the same person?" she asked, confused.

"Ah, it appears that the majority of the instructors at the academy have taken a disliking towards Naruto, despite his best efforts, and repeatedly reported him a complete failure and unstable, dangerous to be around. Apparently, according to more reliable reports the instructors refuse to teach the boy, or even go so far as to sabotage his learning. I believe you could relate to the undeserved prejudice."

"Bastards! Tell this Uzumaki gaki that even if he doesn't make genin, he's got himself a sensei whether he likes it or not." Anko fumed. Without waiting for an answer she stalked out of the office muttering to herself; _"Pick on my Puppy, will they? I'll rip their fucking throats out! Just wait till they see what he becomes! I'll make him into the best damn shinobi ever to come out of Konoha! Fucking pricks! Where's Ibiki? I'm sure he owes me a favour or two, see how they like his prejudice…"_

The Sandaime Hokage leaned back in his chair and relit his pipe. He hadn't seen Anko this mad in years. _'I hope she leaves some of those instructors functional, someone has to teach in the academy after all.' _He thought, before turning back towards the files now scattered about on his desk as his mind wandered towards the blond subject of Anko's ire. _'Poor boy's going to be in the hospital before long if he shows her that Henge of his, then again Anko's training might put him there anyway. Oh well, hopefully the pair can comfort each other, Kami knows they both need a friend after what they've both been through.'_

Naruto had been dreading this day for a while. Graduation day. He'd been practicing day and night for a month now and he still couldn't get the damned bushin jutsu to work right. No matter what he tried it always ended up in a heap on the floor looking like something large had just vomited it up. Now they were calling people into the other room and he was next.

'_Please let it be kawarimi, please let it be kawarimi, please let it be kawarimi…' _he repeated his mantra over and over in his head as he stepped through the door to the classroom.

"Ah, Naruto" Came the greeting from Iruka. "Just one last test, don't be nervous."

Naruto crossed his fingers as his other instructor, Mizuki, checked a list before asking; "Naruto, let's see, ah yes, show us the Bushin no Jutsu if you please."

'_Crap!'_

Clearing his mind as best he was able, Naruto put everything he had into making at least one decent clone. A large blast of smoke later and there was once more a failed, dead looking, clone collapsed in a heap at his feet.

"Sorry, Naruto, but I can't pass you with that. A clone technique is a vital asset in a ninja's arsenal and without mastering it you can't become a genin."

Iruka tried consoling the poor boy, but he knew it would do very little to help his mood. The boy wanted more than anything to be a shinobi, but with such poor chakra control, not to mention the fact that his lessons before this year had almost been non-existent thanks to some narrow-minded instructors holding him back.

Naruto just nodded, his eye's screwed almost shut, before leaving the classroom and making his way outside towards the park next to the academy.

It was there that, half an hour later, that he heard someone approach him as he sat on the swings, staring off into space. Immediately tensing, ready to run in case another of the villagers tried to beat him again, he turned to face the newcomer. He was surprised to see Mizuki approaching him with a sad smile on his face.

"Do you mind if I sit down?" he asked, pointing to the spare swing next to Naruto.

Not trusting himself to speak, he merely nodded to the chunin.

For a while they both just sat there, staring at nothing in particular before Mizuki spoke; "It's unfair the way they treat you, you know. Even Iruka dares not help you too much in case the others turn on him and try to kick him out of the academy."

"I know. I appreciate what he does for me. He's very kind to me, compared to the others. I just don't know why they all hate me so much, all I want to do is become a ninja and protect the village, maybe even be Hokage someday, you know?"

Mizuki nodded at the blonde's words before a smile erupted on his lips. "What if I told you of a way you could become a ninja without having to master the bushin? I know it's the only thing holding you back this year."

The boy's reaction was immediate. "Really, what is it? Will you tell me? Please?"

"Ha, calm down, Naruto. I'll tell you. There's a scroll in the Hokage's possession, labeled 'The Scroll of Sealing'. Anyone who manages to learn any of the techniques described in that scroll automatically becomes a genin. If you can get hold of it and bring it to training ground twenty-seven tonight, I'll help you learn one of them."

"That's great, thank you Mizuki, thank you soooooo much. I'll go… wait, why are you helping me? Aren't you afraid you might get thrown out of the academy?"

"Ha, you're smarter than everyone gives you credit for, Naruto. No, I'm not worried about losing my position as instructor. To tell you the truth, if I manage to learn one of those techniques as well, I can get promoted and become a jounin instructor, with my very own team of genin." The chunin answered with an embarrassed grin.

"Oh! Well, if that's the case, Mizuki-sensei, then I'll definitely help you out. Hey, maybe you could become my instructor when I become a genin. That'd be so cool!"

"Ha, yeah it would Naruto. Now remember, tell no-one else about this ok? Training ground twenty-seven, I'll see you tonight. Prepare for some intense training." He left, waving to the boy behind him. _'Baka, once I get my hands on that scroll you'll be lucky to last a minute. Now I just need to get those new shuriken from that Ame contact's friend and I'll be all set.'_

Naruto was in a happy daze as he considered his new turn of luck. Not only would he be a genin, he'd also have a jutsu none of his classmates would know and Mizuki said he could be his sensei. His happy thoughts were derailed when he heard a polite cough behind him.

He turned to see a kunoichi standing on the branch of a tree behind him. She was wearing a long trench coat over a fishnet shirt and shorts with typical shinobi sandals and her purple hair tied up into a spiky tuft at the back whilst still letting some strands free to frame her, rather attractive, face.

"You do know he's lying to you, don't you, Puppy?" she asked with a sly smile on her face

"Shut up! Mizuki-sensei is helping me to become a shinobi, don't you dare call him a liar!" Naruto retorted. "Who are you anyway?"

"Mitarashi Anko, your new sensei. Oh, and he is a liar. He just wants the scroll for himself, he's been suspected of turning traitor for a while now, this is just further proof. Everything he told you was a complete lie, now follow me, Puppy, it's time for your real shinobi training. No apprentice of mine is going to be an academy drop out."

"You're not my sensei, Mizuki is! And stop calling me Puppy!" he yelled before turning his back on her and running out of the park.

Sighing, Anko thought to herself; _'Why is nothing ever easy? Oh well, guess I'd better tell Hokage-sama and set up an ambush team for Mizuki. Just hope the gaki isn't stupid enough to actually go through with it.'_

A/N: this will be 'Sadistic Naruto ends up becoming one of Konoha's leading assassins thanks to Anko's training'. The idea just came to me one day and I had to get it down somewhere. If you like it please review to tell me so.


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